Starting a new life, in a foreign country, in a different state, in a new home, and now working from home, I felt the need to set a few rules. One of them being: "No electronics in the bedroom".

Too often have I decided to go to bed, and ended up scrolling through Instagram, Facebook, my RSS feed for as long as an hour! Too many times have I reached for my phone as soon as I opened my eyes, to check my email, and Instagram, Facebook, etc. for as long as an hour!

So now, our phones and tablets remain on our desks from dusk to dawn.

I actually put my addiction to good use, as it now takes me less time to get up, because of the urge to check my phone. But I quickly realized that I started delaying this habit and started making breakfast, turning on the radio, getting dressed instead.

A night or two after this rule was set, I also saw Octave, my better half, enter the bedroom with this book by my talented illustrator friend Amandine and start reading it in bed. I shouldn't have cried victory too soon as this only lasted two nights and he still struggles to not fall back asleep after the alarm clock rings in the morning.

By the way, if you have tips - not involving more electronics, or a radio - for waking up in the morning, we're all ears (side note: we have no blinds and it's usually already broad daylight when the alarm clock rings, so a dawn simulator is not an option).

So, we're off to a good start, no electronics have entered the bedroom yet, and I still try to unplug at least half an hour before going to bed.

What about you, do you have any weird rules at home? On a different subject, I'm thinking about setting a "no-shoe" policy. Please share yours in the comment section, or on social media with the #consciousby hashtag!